


Jack O'Lantern

by womanfromblackwater



Category: Red Dead Redemption (Video Games)
Genre: Folk Tales, Gen, Halloween, Jack O'Lantern
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-27
Updated: 2020-10-27
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:28:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 762
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27217945
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/womanfromblackwater/pseuds/womanfromblackwater
Summary: Sean teaches Jack a Halloween tradition
Comments: 2
Kudos: 28





	Jack O'Lantern

“Then we just pop out his little nose there, and we’ve got ourselves a jack o’lantern!”

Sean gave a little flourish as he finished carving the face. Jack ran a finger over the pointy teeth, admiring of Sean’s work. 

“It’s so… not pretty, but great!”

“You haven’t even seen the best part!”

Jack watched in awe as Sean lit a candle and pushed it firmly into the bottom of the pumpkin. He clapped his hands in delight at the glowing face.

“Teach me how to do one!”

Sean laughed and put his hunting knife back in its sheath. 

“Not yet, wee man. Yer mam will kill me if I let you use that. Come here, though.”

He led the boy past the chuck wagon, where they waited until Pearson’s back was turned before Sean grabbed a turnip, then motioned for Jack to follow as he went to his saddlebag and grabbed a small penknife. 

When they returned to the table with the jack o’lantern, they settled onto the bench next to each other. 

“When I was as small as you, back in Donegal, we used to carve turnips. This one might be more your size.”

“Weren’t there pumpkins there?”

“Nah, not like there are here. Turnips were easier to find. Besides, me Da always said that’s what Stingy Jack used.”

He scooped out the insides, then drew a crude face on the turnip, waiting for the question he knew was coming and couldn’t wait to hear.

“Who’s Stingy Jack?”

With a grin, Sean placed the turnip on the table and turned to face Jack. The boy was so eager to hear the story that he was squirming in his seat. Sean drew out the suspense, sighing dramatically.

“Ahhh, old Stingy Jack. There was a man who wouldn’t go a day without a drink.”

“Like Uncle?”

“Very like Uncle. Smart lad. So this Stingy Jack was so wicked, he invited the very devil to come have a drink with him. And thrifty as he was, he made the devil pay.”

“How could a human make the devil do anything?”

“Are you tellin’ this story or me? To pay for the drinks, the devil turned his own self into a gold coin. Our man Jack snatched up that coin and put it in his pocket beside a crucifix- that’s like a cross- so the devil couldn’t escape until he swore not to take Jack’s soul for another ten years.”

“How could a coin make a promise? Did it have a mouth?”

Sean paused for a moment to consider, then shook his head. 

“’Twas a magic coin. It could do anything it wanted.”

“But not leave the pocket.”

“No, because Christ is stronger than the devil.”

Jack shrugged.

“Okay.”

“Do you want to hear the rest of this or not?”

“I do! I do!”

“So, the devil goes back to hell for ten years, then he comes again to take Jack’s soul. But now Jack asks the devil to fetch him an apple from an apple tree. And while he’s up there, Jack cares a cross into the tree, so the devil can’t get down. And he makes him promise never to take his soul at all.”

“He should have said that the first time.”

“Would you be thinkin’ of that with Satan himself in front of ya?”

“I guess not.”

“So then our man Jack goes and gets himself killed some way or another, and when he goes to heaven they won’t take him, on account of the lyin’ and the drinkin’. But hell can’t take him neither, on account of the deal. So the devil gave him a piece of burning coal to light his way through the world. Only it was too hot to hold, so Jack put it inside a turnip to use as a light. And from then on he was called Jack o’ the lantern. And that’s why we make our jack o’lanterns now.”

“To use as a light?”

“No! To remember the story.”

Jack thought for a moment, tilting his head. 

“I think… I want mine to have a spooky face!”

Sean laughed and picked up the turnip, showing Jack how to hold the small knife properly, and guided him through cutting out an eye. Once Jack was settled carving his turnip, Sean started on a new pumpkin. Even with the interruptions, it was fun telling Jack stories. He decided he’d be doing that much more often. After all, the boy had a lot to learn, and Sean, if he did say so himself, was a fine teacher.


End file.
